RealityMobile offers off-the-shelf situational control system

This year’s Super Bowl saw some amazing touchdowns and interceptions, but those in the homeland security business hardly had any interest in what was going on on the field. As America’s preeminent sporting event, the NFL championship game is considered among the most tempting of terrorist targets, and so authorities often sieze the opportunity to test new security technologies. One such emerging technology, a situational awareness and control system from Herndon, Virgina-based RealityMobile, deserves further attention. Unlike other such systems — which permit commanders to monitor and communicate with emergency personnel in the field — the RealityVision approach relies only on commercial off-the-shelf technology.

“Let’s take commercially available phones, commercially available networks, commercially available GPS units and a bunch of other stuff and let’s put it all together in a new bundle,” said company executive Brian Geoghegan. Relying on camera phones compatible with Palm OS or Windows Mobile 5.0, the system not only permits commanders to access video and film from a remote location, it also gives them the ability to send that video back to selected phones. In such a situation, for instance, the remote commander could send images from inside a burning building to commanders on the scene, thereby enhancing awareness on all fronts — ideal for rescue operations, especially because the system also transits GPS coordinates. Moreover, because commercial cell phones are used, a responder rushing to the scene can plug in without having to stop at the stationhouse to pick up his communications gear.

As for privacy concerns, “if you don’t want to be interrupted, you can go off-duty,” said Geoghegan. “When you are off-duty, it’s like voicemail, so when you next go on-duty, you will receive any messages sent to you.”